Late Major Prasad Mahadik was one of the finest officers posted in the 7th battalion of the Bihar Regiment and his life was taken away from him at Tawang’s Indo-China in December 2017. He was trapped in his shelter while it caught fire and died a tragic death. Yes, for sure, his wife Gauri Mahadik was shattered but that did not stop her from getting stronger every minute.

It was that same here that young Gauri had decided that she would be paying the best tribute to her husband in the near future. She quit her job and decided to join the Indian Army. “My joining the Indian Army would be the best tribute to my husband,” she had said a year back.

 

“I was determined to join the army…and the uniform which I will wear after commissioning will become ours…mine and my husband,” she added. Gauri was married to Major Prasad in 2015 after which she lived with her in-laws in Mumbai’s Virar area.

Gauri is currently undergoing a 49-week at the OTA (Officers Training Academy) and from then on she will be joining the army as a Lieutenant in March 2020. She said, “I will be commissioned as a lieutenant in the non-technical category for war widows.”

Gauri informed that the SSB exam was held for widows of defence personnel, who died in harness. Around 16 candidates qualified from three centres — Bangalore, Bhopal and Allahabad.

 

Adding that the journey turned out to be a “happy coincidence”, Gauri added, “We were exempted from answering a written exam conducted by the Combined Defence Services (CDS) and directly appeared for the oral test at Bhopal.”

“At the exam centre in Bhopal, I got allotted the same chest number [28] that my husband was allotted before his selection to the OTA,” she said.

She is not just an inspiration, she is an officer who is ready to serve this country with all the courage and valour she held dear to her.